The first case I tried for Miller & Zois 10 years ago was a herniated disc injury case. Since then, we have handled literally hundreds of disc injury accident claims. We spend a lot of time fine tuning the science and the arguments to make at trial in these cases.

I have always been particularly interested in verdict statistics in disc injury claims. Yesterday, I found some interesting data that looks at the median value of herniated disc injury claims based on the type of vehicle crash. The data provides two things: median verdict and a probability range of verdict.

Of the two, I think the most interesting is probability range. In this Jury Verdict Research Study, probability range is defined as the middle 50 percent of all awards arranged in ascending order in a sampling, 25% above and 25% below the median. In other words, it provides the 25th percentile and the 75th percentile of verdicts. I believe that for plaintiffs with a good law firm, who know how to prepare and try a disc injury case, I think the 75th percentile is probably the median.

The first thing that really stands out is the gap in the range, which is particularly pronounced as you might expect in truck accident crashes. I’m also surprised at how relatively low the statistics are for intersection accidents.

They are all motor vehicle accidents. What really surprises me is how much more the value of herniated disc injuries explodes when taken outside of the motor tort context. Look at these payouts by type of tort claim:

Sure, you are going to have some serious injury business negligence and premises liability type cases. But you would think that garden variety slip and falls would pull those number down. It makes little sense that a premises liability herniated disc claim would get more money than a herniated disc caused by a truck crash.

What are the real keys to the value of these case?

While the type of injury is important, the value of the case is more driven by the injury itself. The biggest issue – bar none – is whether there were preexisting symptomatology Does that mean you can’t win if you had a preexisting condition? Absolutely not. But it does mean the hill is going to a lot steeper to climb and your chances of going of taking you case to trial to get the best possible outcome goes much higher.

The second big driver is whether the disc injury is the exacerbation of a preexisting condition. What does this mean? Many people have dormant disc injuries where they have no symptoms until a trauma like a fall or an automobile collision. If you see words like spondylosis, spinal degeneration or degenerative osteoarthritis on your MRI report, you know that you have a preexisting condition even if you had not symptoms. People get very frustrated when they hear this because they “know” they were fine before the crash.

These cases are a lot easier to win than those victims who had preexisting injuries. But insurance companies generally fight these fairly hard to before offer a good settlement value. We file more of these cases than we settle pre-suit. Another point worth underscoring in these cases is that while the plaintiff’s credibility is important in every personal injury case, the plaintiff’s performance at deposition is even more critical event. Why? Because whether the client with signs of degenerative changes has really suffered a serious injury in the collision is going to rest in large degree on whether the insurance company, and ultimately the jury, believes the story.

Again, to be clear, this is hardly an impossible task. The wind these case is usually to our backs if there is no significant evidence in the medical records or in the testimony that the victim had serious problems prior to the accident. But you still need to clearly jump over the “oh, this would have happened soon anyway” hurdle the insurance companies will put at your feet. How do you do this? In 95% of the cases we take to trial with this issue, we need the patient’s treating doctors to stand behind the patient and thin slice the difference between where the patient would have been before the accident and where the patient is now.

More information on the settlement and trial value of herniated disc injury claims

Getting a Lawyer for Your Claim

I really do not think our experiences in handling these claims is matched, at least not in Maryland. If you have a potential claim, give me or any of our trial lawyers a call at 800-553-8082 or get a free on-line consultation here.

I was n wreck 2011 MRI showed two herniated disc in my lower back I hve new and old damage to my neck , my back burns a lot ive seen a chiro and still go see him . I’m thinking about a lawyer my medical bills were like 7,500 ..they offered m insurance company 12,500 I do not think this is a fair settlement should I get a lawyer do I hve a case

Ron Miller

Stephanie, I don’t know if you should hire a lawyer but you should at least consult with one.

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Personal injury lawyers handling serious personal injury truck and auto accident, medical malpractice and products liability cases throughout Maryland and the United States